Gustavsson full of praise as for impressive Torpey's first Matildas call-up.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson was very impressed with Kaitlyn Torpey's international bow. How impressed? He's compared it to one of the most successful call-ups in recent memory.
How much did Kaitlyn Torpey impress in her first-ever Matildas camp? Well, according to coach Tony Gustavsson, the last player who integrated and adjusted to the rigours of the environment as well as the 23-year-old just did has since gone on to become an almost nailed-in member of his starting XI.
Starting on the wing in both legs of the Matildas' 13-0 aggregate win over Uzbekistan across the past week – a result that punches their ticket to the Paris Olympics – Torpey netted her maiden senior international goal in the second tie on Wednesday evening, a memento accompanied by two assists and the inducement of Dilrabo Asadova’s own goal after only 34 seconds.
Admittedly, there were some growing pains over the past week as well. As you’d expect from someone making their first international appearances. Asadova’s own goal, for instance, arrived after Torpey opted to attempt to cut the ball back when she was in an obvious position to shoot, in similar circumstances to an opportunity she opted not to pursue in the first leg.
For the most part, however, she didn’t look out of place amidst a strong Matildas’ side and demonstrated her versatility in shifting into the backline at halftime in Melbourne.
But that’s an opinion from outside the camp. More pertinently, did Gustavsson see what he wanted out of the newest member of the San Diego Wave?
"I got to see more, to be honest,” he said. “I know she has quality. We've seen it at her club, we've seen it at [an] U23 [level]. She was selected based on performance, she's not here to be developed. She's in here because she's ready to train in our environment.
“In the first three days, we were very positively surprised at how quickly she adjusted to the tempo. And last time I saw a player do that that quickly was when Clare Hunt came in a year ago.
“You don't know that until they come into this environment, how quickly they can adjust to it. Because it is a different level. And she did it and that's why she started. It's not to try her out, to see what she [can do], she played as a starter because she proved in training that he was ready for it.
“ I think mentally she got that first game out of her system and now she could relax and do what we saw in training. [I was] really impressed and also the fact that she's versatile and can be used in so many different positions, I mean even as an outside back she's flowing in as a ten as Ellie does. She's smart in between the lines you can play wide. Very impressive."
Hunt, in case you’ve forgotten, made her senior bow almost exactly a year ago — February 16, 2023 — and has since become an ever-present figure at the heart of the defence. She also got forward on a few occasions against the Uzbeks, coming very close to netting her own maiden international goal.
Providing an assist during her shift, Katrina Gorry was deployed somewhat higher up the pitch than normal at Marvel Stadium, frequently leaving Kyra Cooney-Cross in pace as a lone six in front of Hunt as she was used less as a destroyer and more of a facilitator in the final third.
In the end, the veteran midfielder was perhaps unlucky not to have more than one assist or even a goal – going close at the near post in the first half – but with Torpey’s performance and Michelle Heyman’s four-goal first-half blitz, she was enthusiastic about what lay ahead in Paris.
“We have a lot of depth in the squad now, which I think is amazing,” said Gorry. “For Michelle to come back and score as many goals as she did and I think Torpey also brought so much energy to this team.
“We have the depth now and I think it's going to be tough for the coaches to pick that final team. But regardless of who's on the pitch, I think we're ready, and we're confident I think the World Cup will only drive us to get better and hopefully get a medal.”